I call her by her first name. In my circles, it was considered rude and supposing to call a person by any name they didn't invite you to use. I was never invited to call her "Mom", although the other daughters-in-law have done so. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd feel with it, but it's moot, since I never had that invitation. I think her background didn't include fine details like that, and perhaps it never occurred to her that I never adopted it because of my own upbringing. I don't know. It works, in any case.

If I'm sending cards on behalf of both my husband and myself, I will buy ones which say "Mom."

Edited by: EXOTEC at: 5/15/2014 (22:11)

...the problem with people these days is they've forgotten we're really just animals ... (attributation forgotten)

We did not create the web of life; we are but a strand in it. ~attributed to Chief Seattle

I don't have an official MIL because I'm not married, but I call my long time boyfriend's mother by her first name because that's the way she wants it. He calls my mom, Mrs.( Last Name) because that's the way my mom likes it - for now, she might warm up if we actually do get married.

I call my husband's mother Mom, because she is like a second mother to me. I call my husband's step-mother Bear, because that is the nickname the family gave her and it's a term of endearment to her. I'm closer to my husband's family than my own, so it isn't strange to any of us.

Well, I call her "dh's mom" when talking about her. I would use her first name when talking to her if I needed to get her attention. No change over the years.Dh also has a stepmother who is a year younger than me. Calling her anything but her first name would be weird. No change over the years.

I call her by her first name, same with my FIL. My hubby does the same with my parents, we just call them by their first names. Maybe it would change with time, we've been married for 6 years and don't have kids.

I had two MILs but they both died. I don't really recall calling them anything! I did not see them often enough that I actually needed to address them by name.

My daughter-in-law calls me by my first name, which is fine even though she is more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law to me, and I know I am more of a mother to her than her real mother is. It is just semantics and this very thread is proof many of us just don't know what to call the MIL!

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013